Possible 2016 foes laud Christie at RGA

NEW YORK — Republican governors — including some he might face in the 2016 presidential race — heaped praise on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday, burnishing his image at a time he faces fallout from both economic difficulties in his state and an ongoing traffic jam scandal.

The show of support came during a press conference on the sidelines of a donor meeting of the Republican Governors Association, which Christie chairs. It was the first such event where Christie has faced the press since revelations emerged earlier this year that some of his aides and allies may have engineered traffic jams in New Jersey for political retribution.

“I look at Chris Christie and say he’s been a great leader not only in New Jersey but he’s been an inspiration for many of us across the country,” said Walker, a potential rival for the GOP presidential nomination. His stock has risen as the traffic scandal and economic problems in New Jersey have dimmed Christie’s prospects.

Asked to comment on whether Christie is doing enough to address his state’s sudden budget shortfall by scaling back pension payments he’d pledged to make under a signature 2011 reform deal, Walker took a pass: “I’ll leave that up to the people in New Jersey. Every state’s different. Every circumstance is different.”

As to whether he’s sought advice from Walker, who’s also waged fierce battles on public employee issues, Christie said they talk often about a range of things.

Christie said that despite New Jersey’s economic issues, he still believed Republicans have a superior argument about economic leadership, and he blamed New Jersey’s Democratic legislature for constraining him while some of his fellow governors enjoy more cooperation in their statehouses.

Christie, who has denied any role in the traffic jam scandal, also brushed off the idea that he should have given up his RGA chairmanship in order to deal with his political problems.

“Yeah, no,” he said to a reporter who was mid-question on that subject.

Haley jumped in to say that the other governors wouldn’t want Christie to give up the chairman’s role — and not just because he’s a top-notch fundraiser.

“He completely has the backing of all the Republican governors,” said Haley, who is up for reelection this year along with Walker. “He’s been a rock star … going out and really fighting to tell our story.”

A day after the Republican establishment chalked up big wins in primary elections in six states, Walker said he believed the strength of GOP gubernatorial candidates on the ballot would help the party reach perhaps an even more coveted goal: Senate control.

“The bigger story that’s yet untold that I would reinforce out of this week is that Republican governors are going to have an impact on whether Republicans win the United States Senate,” Walker said, pointing to Arkansas, Michigan and Iowa.

Going into greater detail state-by-state about the gubernatorial map than Christie, Walker said he was optimistic about retaining all Republican-held seats and adding new ones in states such as Illinois and Connecticut.

“We’ve tried to show a path that’s not just in traditional red states,” the Wisconsin leader said.

The governors, who could find themselves on a presidential debate stage two years from now, struck a friendly tone as they talked up their party’s chances in the fall, with Christie often addressing each by their first names.

Pence, whom some in the GOP have talked up as a potential dark horse candidate in 2016, ducked out mid-way; he had a flight to catch, an RGA aide said later.

Christie avoided the last of these RGA press conferences in Washington in February, when the traffic scandal was hotter, leaving Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal to take the lead. Christie was joined at Wednesday’s event by wife, Mary Pat, who sat next to a reporter in the front row.

The New Jersey governor has kept up a busy schedule of travel and private fundraising, and did a small gaggle with reporters in Maine on a recent trip to support Gov. Paul LePage. He’ll be in Florida with Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday, he said.